Only Time Will Tell
by jellemegg
Summary: Three girls transfer to Hogwarts for a reason beyond their knowledge. The school is alive with curiosity about them, including our favorite trio and of course, our friend the Slytherin sex God. OCHP OCFW OCDM !Not Mary-Sue!
1. Introduction

First of all, the disclaimer. J.K. Rowling is the creator of the _Harry Potter_ series and owns the characters from those books mentioned in this story. The other characters not creating by Rowling are the properties of the author.

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It was a pleasant day at Hogwarts-the sun was shining for the first time in months, it seemed. Well, it didn't _seem_; it was the first time since term started when the weather was really quite nice. Everyone was outside-the teachers, students, even the house-elves were given outside duty serving drinks and tidying the lawns. Filch was the only one working, cleaning the castle in a frenzy, almost rubbing through the doors with Wendy the Housewitch's All-Purpose Cleaner.

Why was Filch cleaning, you ask? Well, just like in Harry's fifth year, there were visitors on their way to the school. And not just any visitors, mind you, but the triplet daughters of the greatest witch and wizard in Asia. They were coming to study under some of the most knowledgeable and wisest teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They were coming for their seventh year, recently accepted as exchange students by the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Before, they were home-schooled, but their parents thought that making new friends would be good for them.

They were scheduled to arrive at dusk that night on broomsticks. They were each adept at flying and playing Quidditch. Everybody from Hogwarts was required to line up on the steps and greet their new peers when they arrived.

"What d'ya think they'll be like?" asked Colin Creevey.

"Buzz off, Colin." spat Ron. After Colin scurried away, "So, what **do** you think they'll be like?"

"I just hope they're smart. I also hope that they speak English. I haven't gotten around to learning Hindi yet," said Hermione nonchalantly. "I wonder what house they'll be in, anyhow?"

"As long as they're hot," sighed Harry, while Ron nodded. He had only recently gotten over Cho from his fifth year. "Maybe they won't have heard of me," he said wistfully.

"You boys are so shallow! I can't believe you!" cried Hermione.

Nearby, Fred and George were playing exploding snap. In between, they also were wondering about the exchange students. They had recently returned to finish their schooling, since they had time now that their store was doing fine on its own.

"Oy, George! Watch it!" shouted Fred. George had thrown one at Fred and it had hit him in the forehead, sending a shower of sparks all over Fred.

"Sorry Fred!" George smiled cheesily. "I'm distracted. I can't stop wondering about these girls who are coming. What were their names again?"

"I don't think Dumbledore even told us. Odd, that," said Fred, letting his thoughts drift to the aspect of pretty girls coming to school. "I can just imagine them. Faces like angels. Bodies of goddesses. Hair like . . . ouch! What was that for?"

"You sound like Mum," said George blatantly.

Far off in the other edge of the grounds was Draco, alone and thoughtful. He had long since discarded his dumb-as-lumps lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle. Now he was pondering the new arrivals. Maybe he could get to know them. . . quite well, hopefully. Maybe they would be in Slytherin. Maybe. . .

So by now you can tell that the school was a-buzz about the three girls. The only thing left for them to do was get to Hogwarts . . .

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So that's the first chapter. We will try to have the next one up soon! 3


	2. Crash Landing

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is the creator of the Harry Potter series and owns the characters from those books mentioned in this story. The other characters not creating by Rowling are the properties of the author. Oh, and thanks to iliketosleep for being our first reviewer!

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Crash Landing

The sun was just beginning to set and all of Hogwarts was out on the grounds, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the three exchange students. There were all sorts of rumors flying around, especially among the seventh years, who are the same ages as the new girls.

Many of the guys (cough Draco) were hoping to befriend them and if possible do more than that!

The girls hadn't even arrived at Hogwarts and already they had at least half of the male population thinking about them! As for the girls, though they too were curious, they had more honorable intentions than some of the guys. (cough Draco)

Suddenly, Harry pointed up at the distant horizon. Three small specks could be seen, steadily growing larger as they made their way towards their new school, new peers, and a new life.

"Hey Ali, I dare you to make one of your special landings on the grounds!" Lahki grinned, her green eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that again," Ali shuddered in mock horror. "Last time I made one of my special landings, I fell right on top of the nastiest teacher in our school! And the worst part was he thought I was doing it on purpose, like trying to seduce him or something! You would think I would be more subtle about something like that, but noooooooo, after I dusted myself off he made a pass at me!"

"Come on, it will be a great way to break the ice with our future classmates. You know one of the hardest things about meeting new people is figuring out what makes them laugh. Please!" pleaded Lahki.

"All right, but I'm taking no chances this time. I'm landing on a student this time, most preferably a boy, but sometimes its so hard to tell, what with everyone decked out in their black robes," answered Ali with a sigh.

The specks had now become vague outlines of teenagers, two of which flew gracefully to the ground, without so much as the slightest bump.

The third, however, was careening wildly out of control toward the gathered mass of students! Harry looked up to see Ali drop off her broomstick, only several feet above him. He barely had time to register what was happening as the breath was knocked out of him. The last thing he remembered before hitting the ground with her soft (though nevertheless hard enough to create quite an impact) body on top of his was the brightest pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen, smiling at him from above.

Lahki grinned at Megna, her other sister, as she hopped off her broom in search of Ali. Megna followed her still smiling at the thought of Ali landing on some unlucky guy. Or a lucky one, depending on how you looked at it. Hopefully it wasn't another teacher whom she landed on.

They found her on top of a cute guy with unruly black hair and green eyes. She was still grinning down at him, but the smile faded off of her face when she saw a tall man with a grey beard approaching. Sometimes Ali had really bad luck.

"It's nice to finally meet you Miss . . . Ali I believe," said the tall man. "Please come with you. You and your sisters must be sorted." Ali, Lahki and Megna followed the man inside to the Great Hall. All of the students still outdoors followed them.

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A/N: Sorry that was so short guys, I didn't have much time to write it. Please review and tell us what you think! 


	3. Getting Acquainted

Woohoo! Yeah, we wish we were J.K. Rowling, but it would be kind of weird for three people to be one person. And . . would a famous author write fanfiction? Just a rhetorical question for you all. Anyways, on with the chapter!

Getting Acquainted!

Everyone got settled in their places at each of the house tables before the grey bearded professor let the three girls into the Great Hall to be sorted, along with all of the new first years.

"Harry, you are so lucky!" said Ron, "One of them landed on you!"

Hermione snorted. "Would you prefer that she landed on you Ronnikins? You would have broken your back just so a pretty girl could land on you?"

"But Harry didn't break his back!" said Ron, protesting.

Harry smiled smugly. "I liked her. She had a really pretty smile and bright blue eyes. She was gorgeous!" He knew that if anything was about to make Ron jealous, it was telling him that a beautiful girl had chosen Harry over him. Of course, Ron was used to it, but not everyday do you get tackled from a broomstick.

"Ahem. Attention please," said Professor McGonagall sternly, tapping her water glass. "The sorting ceremony is about to begin. First, instead of first years, we will have our new transfer students be sorted." At this news there were a lot of catcalls and hoots from the boys, and stern looks from Hermione, though she was having difficulty covering up her anxiousness.

Professor McGonagall got out a roll of parchment and Filch brought in the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore waltzed in with the three girls and all of the first years. Everyone watched the hat expectantly, though many eyes switched back and forth from each girl also.

Suddenly the hat smiled and began to sing:

I'm a hat as you can see

The smartest hat I'll always be

Put me on your head right now

I'll sort you then I'll have a bow

Your might belong in Gryffindor

Your hearts are very brave

Your daring, nerve and chivalry

Will be for me to see

You could belong in Hufflepuff

You all are just and loyal

And unafraid of toil

Stand tall and never fall

Maybe you are Ravenclaw

You've got a ready mind

You've got wit and plenty of smarts

You are very very kind

Or you could be a Slytherin

Deceiving and cunning you are

Many great wizards came from here

Some of them are very near

Now put me on

I'll take a look

You'll go where you truly belong

That's the end of my song

Everybody applauded though many people had not been paying attention. Hermione however smiled grimly when Harry looked her way.

"What wrong, 'mione?" he asked.

"Did you hear what it said when it was talking about Slytherin?" she took a look at his face, which was blank, and continued, "Obviously not! It said 'many great wizards came from her, some of them are very near.' It could mean You-Know-Who!" She looked very worried.

"Or it could mean Snape," interjected Ron. "Pay attention, the girls are going up there!" He was right. Surprisingly, Professor Dumbledore was the one calling them up and introducing them.

"Good evening students," he said quietly. "I would like to welcome everybody back. Especially our new first years, and our new seventh year exchange students. We will sort them first. Well, I will call you up in alphabetical order. Ali Halkra. Please, before trying on the hat, say a little about yourself."

Ali stepped up to the middle of the room, just in front of the hat. She was wearing dark blue robes. She had dark black hair with dark tan skin, like most people from India. Her blue eyes shined in the light from the floating candles. When she spoke, she had a slight accent, but she spoke perfect English. "Uh, well, hi. I'm Ali. I transferred here from Durmstrang. We all hated it there, and I speak for all three of us. Er . . I like to read and play Quidditch. Uh, I don't know what else to say . . ." She put on the sorting hat.

Several seconds later it shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table screamed and whistled as Ali walked to join them. Seconds later the shouts and clapping calmed down as Dumbledore began to speak again. "Now we have Lahki Halkra."

"Hey guys! I'm Lahki. In Hindi it means something like 'valuable.' I enjoy a good dance, playing Quidditch, having snowball fights, waking up in a bedroom that definitely isn't my own, chatting, oh, I could go on all day."

Many boys gave catcalls when she spoke, partially because she was beautiful, and partially because of the context of what she was saying. Unlike Ali, Lahki was wearing a pair of jeans that showed off her butt, and a tight tank top, that showed off a fair section of her midriff, of a deep green color, to match her eyes. She had long wavy hair that was black, but she had some deep brown highlights.

She walked up to the sorting hat and put it on. It also put her into Ravenclaw. There were just as many shouts and claps as her sister got. There were also many sighs of disappointment from all of the other tables that Ravenclaw had gotten two of the girls so far. Probably the third also.

"She was a bit forward wasn't she?" asked Fred to Harry, George and Ron.

"She's a slut!" said Hermione quietly. "Didn't you see what she was wearing? Professor McGonagall will never stand for it. I should issue a complaint with the headmistress."

"Slut! Slut! She was beautiful!" shouted Ron just as the other tables got quiet. Apparently Lahki had heard.

"Thanks," she called to Ron, "Want to go dancing some time?"

Ron flushed crimson and muttered something under his breath. Harry, Fred, and George were trying to hold back their laughter. Hermione already had tears of mirth running down her cheeks.

"Students! That is enough. Miss Halkra, please do note that we have a dress code. In your classes you are required to wear black robes with the Ravenclaw symbol on them," Dumbledore's eyes flashed dangerously in Lahki's direction, "Now, without further ado, Miss Megna Halkra."

Megna was not dressed as either of her sisters was. She was wearing a pair of jeans, not as tight as Lahki's, and a tee-shirt that said, 'I'm Indian, deal with it!' on it. She had neither wavy nor straight hair, but something in the middle. On her it looked great. It was also a dark black color. Her eyes, though brown, were lovely.

She stepped up to the platform. "Hi. I'm Megna. I love Quidditch. I can play any position that you wanted me too. It's great fun. I like to work-out, but I don't want huge muscles. That's not respected in my home. I agree with Ali, Durmstrang was awful, and I intend to have a great year here."

She stepped up to the sorting hat and put it on her head. It took much longer deciding her than her two sisters, but in the end, it put her in Ravenclaw also, much to Ron's disappointment.

"She was the cutest one!" he cried. Hermione snorted at him.

Half an hour later the first years were all sorted into their houses and food arrived on the tables. The house-elves had apparently worked extra hard because there were a number of foreign, brightly colored dishes, which Hermione said were Indian curries.

Ali, Lahki and Megna were greatly enjoying themselves at the Ravenclaw table. Ron kept throwing filthy looks at Terry Boot who was chatting amiably with Lahki. Ali and Megna were both engaged in conversation with Padma Patil, who was telling them all about Hogwarts.

"Attention, attention," said Dumbledore softly after the plates had been cleared. "Will the prefects of each house please escort the students to the common rooms. However, I would like to keep all Ravenclaw and Gryffindor seventh years in hear please, with an exception of the prefects."

With a scuffle of chairs and benches being pulled out and pushed back in, all the underclassmen left the Great Hall, and to Harry's delight, Malfoy and his cronies did also, for they were not invited to this meeting.

There was much animated chatter as all the remaining Ravenclaw's went to sit at the Gryffindor table, making it easier for Professor Dumbledore to address them.

"Good evening, all. I will once again welcome you back to Hogwarts, and to Hogwarts for the first time," he nodded at Ali, Lahki and Megna. "I was just calling this meeting because students from the Ravenclaw house generally get along the best with Gryffindors. I would like a one person from each Gryffindor and Ravenclaw to show around our new students. Preferably one male and one female person. Any volunteers?"

Immediately all hands went up. "Well," sighed Dumbledore. "I will pick at random. For Megna, I pick Ron Weasley and Padma Patil."

Megna walked off with Ron and Padma who were hastily deciding where to take her first.

"For Ali, I choose . . Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."

Ali smiled at Dumbledore then set off in the opposite direction from Megna with Harry and Mandy.

"And Lahki," Dumbledore sighed. "Do you have any robes Lahki?"

"Nope," she chirped.

"Ah. Well, tomorrow, Sunday, I will grant you, your sisters, and your escorts permission to go to Hogsmeade for you to buy some clothes."

"Oh thank you!" said Lahki.

"Your escorts are to be Seamus Finnigan and, well, I'm just going to give you one escort." In truth, he felt that any girls were likely to get into a fight with her. Just look at the way she dressed . . .

Lahki looked Seamus up and down. She smiled at him.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yep," he said, slightly nervously.

She grabbed his hand and walked with him to the grounds to have a look around.

Phew- That took a long time to write. I hope you like it quite a bit! Please review!


	4. Shown Around

A/N: Thanks to those who like where this might be going. Please review! Also, we all know by now that J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter characters, and all that jazz, so please consider this the last disclaimer. Lastly, I don't fancy myself a slut, either.

On with the show-

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Shown Around

Malfoy was outraged. Not only were they perfect, but they were in Ravenclaw. Now they would be best friends with Potter (and Merlin knows that he doesn't have enough whores chasing him as is) and they would come to hate him as a Slytherin. Honestly, this class thing just created problems.

But, wow! Malfoy had imagined that they'd be Asian versions of Granger-brought here because of their brains to encourage the students to work harder and meet up the international expectations. Instead, the male population at Hogwarts was about to fall sharply in intelligence, losing N.E.W.T.S points by the minute while daydreaming about the Halkras.

The female side, for the most part, at least, was focusing on how to show these new girls their collective place. So what if they looked better than Eloise (pimple girl), who had blossomed after losing the acne? They were new, and the established Hogwarts witches-in-training weren't going to lose their suitors to ANYBODY.

Speaking of suitors, Ron was following Megna like a sniffler follows a gold watch.

"So, what do you do for fun?" he asked for about the tenth time. "I heard you like Quidditch. Maybe I could show you where the pitch is sometime."

"I don't need that," she replied, a little ticked, to say the least. "It's the big court over there with the huge hoops, right? Or is that where we study Potions?"

"Oooh, nice." Padma clapped and shot an acid glare at the red-head, who was rapidly turning scarlet.

In the library, Hermione was rambling about the 'excellent courses and professors." It was all Harry could do to make faces miming the classes and professors in question to keep Ali from falling asleep.

"I guarantee that you will LOVE it here. I also hope that the curriculum can match up to what you received at Durmstrang. Excuse me, please, I think I see a good book for my Muggle Studies background reading." Hermione jumped up as quickly as could allow while maintaining her "mature" composure, leaving Harry and Ali alone, and in silence, for the first time.

"Is everyone like that over here?" asked Ali, biting her lip to keep from laughing. "Durmstrang was horrific and pathetically daft-are we supposed to be like her here?"

Harry grinned. "No. Hermione's a little off her rocker. If you think this is bad, she just about loses it near finals. Don't worry. Wait a couple of weeks, and then do what I do-borrow her answers and spend the rest of your time on, ahem, more enjoyable activities." A slight wink followed this last remark, not missed by Ali, who raised her eyebrows. Well, well, she thought. That was smooth-this could be a fun year, indeed.

Lakhi had no doubt in her mind that the year to come would be a fun one. However, since she had hit puberty at twelve, every year had been a fun one. She hadn't been lying about waking up in different beds, either. Almost every boy in Durmstrang had ended up with her at least once-no matter what her sisters said, Lakhi had found their old school a pretty nice place to be.

Her new school wasn't that bad either, she decided. The boys she passed were definitely into her. The Slytherin boys were the hottest, she decided, but the one showing her around had potential, too.

"Um, Seamus?" she laid a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "The staircases are very nice, but I'm not really that good with banisters. Furniture's more my style."

"Huh? Oh, you've probably seen stairs before. But what about furniture? What d'ya mean?"

This one was an idiot. Lakhi rolled her eyes and tried to let him in on what she meant. "Oh, you know. Big, comfy couches, beds that you can move around in...I'd really like to see what they're like here. If there's one thing I need, it's to be comfortable while I'm working."

"You mean like when you're doing homework? We get Common Rooms for that."

Okay, so he's not good with hints. He's really cute, though. Since I'm stuck with him for a few days anyway, I might as well teach him something. Lakhi let him lead her to the Trophy Room so that he could show her the House Cup-or at least try.

Later that night, the triplets met up in their dormitory. They were given a separate one, although they didn't know why. While getting ready for the trip to Hogsmeade the next morning, they exchanged notes on their new peers.

"Ali, how's the famous Potter?" called Megna from the other side of the room.

"Mmm, is he like everyone says? OR is he like that bookish Know-It-All?" said Lakhi.

"Oh, neither. He's funny, and yes he's cute. No, Lakhi, I don't think he's not going to sleep with you. I thought that's why they gave you the Irishboy?"

"He's a greenie. Don't worry-I already taught him a few things. The House Cup's never going to mean the same thing to him again. This one might last awhile. Megna-what about that carrot-head?"

"Don't EVEN ASK. He spent the entire time annoying me and Padma. I was about to hex him when we had to come in. You'd think that someone with a voice that loud would have better things to say, but-"

A knock came at the door. Professor McGonagall let herself in a moment later, calling to the newest member of Hogwarts.

"Misses Halkra? I apologize, you must be tired from your flight, but please come down immediately. Headmaster Dumbledore has sent word that he would like to talk with you in his office. He says that it is quite important."

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Okay! Thanks to everyone for their reviews! Oh, by the way, on our former chapter it said Mandy once, and that should be Hermione. Pardon our errors please! Okay, please review! 


	5. A Meeting with Dumbledore

Chapter 5

The three girls hurried along the corridor behind McGonagall, whispering amongst themselves about why Professor Dumbledore had summoned them.

"Maybe he wants to tell you off for your 'interesting' wardrobe, Lahki. He didn't seem too pleased in the Hall." Megna smirked.

"Nahhhh, I don't think so. Why would he ask you guys to come too, then?" she replied, not rising to the taunt.

"So we could savor the rare moments when you actually have to dress like the schoolgirl you are, and not like a lady of, ahem, negotiable virtue." (a.k.a. a whore) Ali retorted. She thought Lahki always looked so uncomfortable the few times she ever wore robes. It just didn't seem to fit her. It was as if the uniforms were covering up her personality, not just her (skimpy) clothes. Her sister was one of those people who liked to always look good, and went to great lengths in order to be assured that she did, though not because she was shallow or anything. Oh no, quite the opposite! It gave her confidence to know she looked high-quality, especially in public. Though you'd never know it as a casual observer, Lahki actually used to be shy! However, ever since she hit puberty her extroverted nature had really come out. Ali laughed softly to herself, thinking about the difference between her shy, sweet, clingy, and soft-spoken sister of five years ago and the sassy, in-your-face kind of girl Lahki was now. No one would ever have connected the two.

Megna poked Ali, startling her out of her thoughts. "Ali, come on! We can't afford to keep the Headmaster waiting, not after his being so kind and all, letting us come here. Hurry up!"

They stepped through a door into a room unmistakably as full of personality as Lahki's wardrobe. Though full of odd objects and random photos, the room nonetheless exuded an aura of warmth and cheerfulness. Bright scarlet and gold seemed to be the color scheme here, if there was one. Ali couldn't remember if Dumbledore had been in Gryffindor or not, but if he had, that would explain it. The pictures on the walls were pretending to be asleep, but were peeking out of the corners of their eyes to critique the new arrivals.

"Come in! Come in!" A hearty voice welcomed them inside."Namaste, Aliana Sessara, Megna Nagini, Lahki Devrani. I hope my accent isn't too painful. Why are you just standing there? You look so uncomfortable! Sit down, girls, please. There is a matter of utmost importance that I need to talk to you about.

heh heh A cliffhanger! Well sorta anyway. Sorry it took so long to update!


	6. Death and a New Boyfriend

Yea, I know it was short last time, we've had a ton of stuff to do and finals begin next week . . ugh, you are lucky that we are updating at all this week, we've got tons of stuff to study! Okay, thanks to lateBloomer04 for reviewing our last chapter and thanks to those of you who read! Please review though . . .

Death and a New Boyfriend

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore," said Megna.

He nodded at her and smiled a little. "Please sit down," he said. "As I said before, I have a matter of utmost importance to discuss with you. You do not know why you were sent to Hogwarts, do you?"

Megna, Lahki, and Aliana shook their heads.

"Well, it was a matter of your safety. Voldemort," the three girls flinched, "–has returned to power, as you might already know. The organization that I have working to stop him has found out some rather . . disturbing news." He paused and glanced at them over his glasses with a look of pity or sadness. "You know your family history quite well?"

"Erm," said Lahki, "When I was maybe four or five, I was looking, well, snooping through Mom's desk and I found some important looking papers. They said a lot of stuff about a princess and a soon-to-be queen. Mom swore me to secrecy and modified my memory, she said I would remember this stuff when the right time came," said Lahki, startled that she was saying this, for she truly had forgotten this until Dumbledore mentioned the birthright.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, "This is correct. Your cousin Amili was an Indian princess."

"Was?" asked Ali.

"Yes. She was murdered last month. Your parents hid this from you for your safety. Sadly, getting you transferred to Hogwarts was the last thing your parents ever did for you," Dumbledore looked at their stricken faces and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Your parents also died tragically at the hands of Voldemort."

Megna put her head on Ali's shoulder and began to sob uncontrollably. Ali hugged her, trying to offer comfort, but she was crying too hard. Lahki, however, stood up and walked out of the door, bumping into Filch on her way.

"Lahki, wait!" said Dumbledore.

Lahki ignored him and continued walking until she reached the great hall. The tables that were there for dinner had disappeared and the room was completely dark, though she could see several stars on the bewitched ceiling. She sighed. _I cannot believe that mom and dad are really gone._ She summoned a blanket from a lone house elf she saw lurking in a corner. He brought her a comfortable green one and she set it in the middle of the great hall. She dropped down onto it and watched the stars in the sky.

She was asleep when a lone figure came into the great hall. He walked over to her, "Psst."

Lahki yawned, but awoke. "Who are you?" she asked the stranger she couldn't see.

"Fred Weasley at your service. I thought you looked a little lonely, so I came over her to cheer you up and keep you company," he said, lighting his wand.

"You can't cheer me up. I just found out that my parents are dead! What can you possibly do to cheer me up?" she asked, tears welling in the corner of her eyes, though that didn't stop her from noticing that he was cute.

"This," he said, and he kissed her.

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Meanwhile, Professor Dumbledore had calmed down Ali and Megna. They were still very sad, but they were no longer crying, they could actually listen to what he has to say. 

"Again, I'm so terribly sorry about what has happened. The moment they were killed, the Order knew about it, and they apparated to the spot, trying to figure out who had done it, a death eater or Voldemort himself. Unfortunately, they were a split second too late.

We have reason to believe that your parents knew something. Now I knew your parents, and they would not keep very important information to themselves. I believe that they told this information to you and then modified your memories. I don't know which of you they would have told, but may I have permission to extract your memories and search through them? I will talk to Lahki when she returns."

"Yes, you can check my memories. I will still have them, right?" asked Megna, scared of what happened to her parents. She had never done anything that she would be embarrassed for the headmaster to see, unlike Lahki, and possibly Ali.

"Yes, you will still have them. I will have them too also," said Dumbledore. "If it makes you feel better, I will not look at anything that I believe unimportant."

"Oh, okay," sniffed Ali, "then you can see mine also."

"Good," said Dumbledore. He took out an empty pensive and his wand. He set the wand on the top of Ali's head and them dumped it into the pensive. He repeated the same process for Megna. "There, all done. You two may leave to your quarters if you wish."

At this Megna started sobbing again. "Momma always used to say 'if you wish' to me." She sniffed. "Will there be a funeral?"

"Uh, no," sighed Dumbledore. "We cannot risk getting your family all in one place." He looked at their blank faces. "Maybe I should explain. Voldemort came after your parents because they knew something about what he was planning to do, something to do with you. I took it upon myself to get you away from India, for your protection. My good friend Remus Lupin believe that there was another prophecy made, about one of you guys plus Lahki, and Voldemort. The only problem is that this prophecy is not in the Department of Mysteries. We think that your parents hid the prophecy or destroyed it. Now, we need to find the person who has the prophecy or the person who heard it. You may be the key to this information."

"Oh," said Megna. "Well, if I see Lahki, I'll send her up, but she has temper problems sometimes . . ."

"Thank you Megna, now you girls go get some sleep," said Dumbledore, nodding towards the door.

Megna and Ali got up to open the door. As Ali reached out to open it, Professor McGonagall burst in.

"Oh, terribly sorry, Megna, Ali," she said, nodding at each of them in turn. Megna gave Ali a look and they continued on towards their dormitory. "Professor Dumbledore, I found Lahki in the kitchen, err, snogging," she said with great distaste.

"Whom was she snogging with?" said Dumbledore, amused at Minerva's discomfort.

"Fred, or George, one of those terrible boys," she exaggerated. Fred and George has left during their seventh year, and had come back to make up the missed time.

"Ah. I suspected as much," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. "I saw Lahki and Fred making google-eyes at each other the other day. I'm glad they finally got together."

McGonagall stared at him. "Well," she huffed, "I suppose my information is invaluable. I'll just leave them down there for Filch to find when he makes his rounds." She turned and walked briskly out the door.

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Okay, that's the chapter. I hope you guys like it! Please review! 


	7. Coping and Adapting

A/N: Well, we're back. Once a week for an update seems good to me, at least. It's finals week and we've been grinding our brains in the ground like HELL. Though I think that it was just for one class-and that's over. Thought you'd like to know. Also, we have no idea how many people are reading this, so if you would, leave a review. Nothing much, just an "I've been here" kind of thing would rock. The self-esteem thing would just improve dramatically. And with school winding down, it'd be nice for some feedback to keep us alive. Without further ado-

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Chapter 7: Coping and Adapting

The air was so dense in the room that, had any of them the strength or desire, they could have cut through it with their wands-no magic required. Instead, all three girls were slumped over in the armchairs facing the fire. It had been hours since their meeting with the headmaster, and after distraction, denial, and all of those other things that come before acceptance, the Halkras were exhausted.

Lakhi was perhaps in the best shape of the three. Fred had indeed cheered her up, but the fact that she left before hearing about the prophecy gave her a lot less to worry about than the other girls. She was simply upset about her parents and cousin, nothing more. Ali had cried earlier, but after her moment of weakness had passed, her calculating mind swung into full gear. Even without memories, she was trying to decipher the mystery surrounding her family. Now this was a puzzle which she would solve.

Last but never least, Megna had curled up into a ball in her chair. She was pure emotion, but like always, never showed it. Thousands of scenarios flew past her eyes, but she care enough to try and understand them. Sighing, she stood.

"Lakhi," she whispered. "Go to bed." Her sister looked up at her, abut to argue. "No. I mean it. The headmaster will need you for your memories tomorrow, and besides, one of us will have to be awake in the morning. Ali's in one of her deep thought phases, and I, well, never mind about me. You're getting some rest whether you like it or not."

Closing her eyes, Lakhi swept up the stairs, scowling at her bossy sister. She was right, but that didn't mean that Lakhi had to like it.

Megna turned back to her other sister. The oldest child, even though it was only by eleven minutes, Ali was never one to leave any stone unturned. She wouldn't come out of that train of thought until she came to a conclusion, or until someone threw water on her. Not wanting to deal with an extremely pissed-off sister at this hour, Megna put a shield around her to keep her warm and keep her from doing herself any harm, grabbed her broomstick, and strode through the portrait hole.

It was pitch-black outside, and close to freezing too, but that wasn't a problem. Right now, the only thing that Megna really wanted was to get numb and wipe away everything that had just happened. Mounting her broom, she flew off towards the top of the castle. Flying was, after all, the best sort of therapy.

She had been up in the air for hours-the sun would start rising soon, which meant that Megna's lark was over. Someone or the other would be up soon, and the last thing that Megna wanted was to be seen - deaths in the family or no, the professors seemed strict about curfew.

Heading back from over the Forbidden Forest (it really wasn't that dangerous from high enough up,) an uneasy feeling hit her. Picking up speed, she got back to the school as fast as she could. The feeling was more than that now, it was full-blown panic. Making it back to her quarters at a sprint, she collapsed into her bed, not noticing the absence of Lakhi.

On the roof of the Astronomy Tower, a pitch-black owl settled in for a much-earned day of rest.

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A/N: Please DO review! 


	8. Memory Searches

Well. It's sure been a long time since we last updated. In fact, it's been a very long time. Right now we want to thank:

KrazieChikadee: I'm glad you think it's interesting. And we do try to keep it well written . . . thanks for reviewing!  
Jaulli Bass: It's still a bit in the pre-stages. In the end, Harry Potter will be the most important, or at least that's what we plan.  
lateBloomer04: Maybe you are right . . . a secret animagi would be creepy though . . .

Memory Searches

Dumbledore was not tired. Usually he would have fallen asleep in one of his fluffy golden armchairs by eleven o'clock in the evening, but today, something was up. It was nearly two o'clock in the morning, and he was wide awake. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Instead of swimming through the feelings that something was very wrong, Dumbledore decided that he needed to accomplish something. He was going to try and sort through the memories that Megna and Ali had given him. Something had to be in there about the prophecy or why what happened, happened.

"Alciento," he said, pointing his wand at the pensive storing their memories. The spell would search through every memory and see wether it was relevant to his cause or not. Then it would divide the memories into two piles, one important, and the other not.

Dumbledore stared at the pensive for a few minutes until it separated fully. Then he poured the non-relevant memories into another smaller glass jar. He bent over the pensive full of important memories and let his long crooked nose touch the surface.

He fell through into a large house. He saw three small girls and a tall woman who was talking to a man in the fireplace. The girls, who Dumbledore suspected were Ali, Megna, and Lahki, watched with interest.

"No, really Forbes. I don't understand why you cannot keep it safe for me," the lady was saying.

"It is against my personal rules. If you need something to be kept safe, you will do it yourself, and you will not tell anyone where you've put it, except for one trustworthy person who is not likely to tell anybody, or to keel over and die anytime soon. I sorry that I cannot help you Jallak."

"Fine, it's okay. I'll just put it away somewhere and tell only one trustworthy person." Jallak was playing with something in her pocket. Dumbledore moved closer to see if he could get a glimpse of it. No such luck, the pocket of the Jallak's robe was covering the item completely.

"You got it," said Forbes. "See you later Jallak." There was a small crack and the face disappeared and the flames turned back to their original color.

The memory abruptly changed. Dumbledore was walking in a country lane. Megna, it looked like, was now ten years old and was holding a gentleman's hand. Dumbledore followed.

"If your mother and I ever go away," he was saying, obviously he was the girl's father, "for a very long time, I need you to take charge. You are the most mature of your sisters, and I think you would make the best leader."

"Why would you go away daddy?" asked Megna.

"I'll tell you the truth, alright? There is a man, he's not very nice, and we got on his bad side. Sometime, he might decide that he doesn't want us to live with you anymore, and try to take us away."

"Oh," said Megna. Clearly she did not understand.

Dumbledore decided that he'd had enough of the memories for tonight and withdrew himself from the pensive. In fact, in just two memories, he had learned a lot, but he still had to make many assumptions.

Presumably, Jallak had something she wanted to hide, but nobody would help her hide it so she would have to do it herself. And she would tell one trustworthy person who isn't likely to drop dead where it is hidden. So the person who know's where it's hidden is alive. And, the parents were expecting to be made to go on the run, or even get killed, by a man whom they had gotten on the bad side of. Voldemort? Dumbledore decided that he needed to view more memories, then he needed to talk to Megna.

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Okay, sorry it's been such a long time. I hope you liked this chapter. Please review! 


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